We found a few places in town, all around the same price. The one we chose has a nice big kitchen and a kind landlady. They own a pizzeria below the apartments, and she said they smell great when they're cooking. Bonus!
We will be right in the middle of town, just a couple blocks from the beach (as everywhere in town pretty much is) and just down the street from the market. We are planning a month in this place, using it as a home base at times when we decide to take little trips to the nearby Isla de Ometepe and Granada. It will be so much easier and enjoyable to explore without all of our stuff with us all the time.
Last night they elected a new president. Actually its the same president they had before. Which isn't actually allowed. He changed the rules so he could run again. They stopped liquor sales in town in the evening on Friday and didn't start them again until this morning (Monday) in case of riots, at least people would be more or less sober. A good idea, I thought, until I realized it might have just made liquor sales Friday MORNING really really good.
No signs of chaos though. They walked the virgin Mary down the street and played music, not sure why. There is a lot of singing and yelling that goes on here, which I never really understand. The church bells also seem to be sporadic. Nicaraguans are not quiet, as Tyson tells us. No they are not. Trucks drive around town several times a day blasting propaganda or advertisements at volumes I didn't realize were possible. Like. I can hear this. As if it were right next to my head. Full blast. From UP THE MOUNTAIN. Given, we're not THAT far from town, but still, its unreal.
Anyway after a weekend of even more propaganda and singing and yelling, they elected Daniel Ortega back into office. This morning they were playing the same loud trucks talking about how great he is and playing a song about it, something about "another another time, Nicaragua" to the tune of "Stand By Me". But get this:
This morning a friend of Tyson's was telling Ryan about his voting experience, and although we knew Nicaraguan government is corrupt, as most government tends to be on some level, this was something else. He went down to vote. They asked him who he was voting for. He told them he was voting for the opposing guy. They then started to basically bribe him onto their side, and once we agreed and it was his turn to vote, they handed him FIVE ballots. Five.
This is a small town, that level of corruption was just so surprisingly blatant, we couldn't believe it. Anyway apparently some people are upset and everyone is calling for another vote. They're already unhappy that he changed the rules for another term. The new vote will not likely happen. Things go the way the rich people want them to go.
(Song starts at about 2:00)
P.S. I typed "president of Nicaragua" into Google to see if I could find any news on what all went down and Google said, "Best guess for President of Nicaragua is Daniel Ortega."
Google's just throwing its 'best guess' out there. Like the internet doesn't receive any information from 'this part of the jungle'. Just guessing. True story. Try it out.
NICARAGUA TRIUNFARÁ
Cuando el sol salió,
cuando el sol volvió,
nos llegó una luz de libertad.
No, yo, yo ya no.
Nunca más la oscuridad,
ahora sí, libertad,
igualdad, fraternidad.
Y otra y otra vez, triunfará,
Nicaragua, triunfará,
porque hay paz,
hay amor y dignidad.
Cuando el sol, que yo veo aquí,
se alza con fe.
Yo no tengo,
yo tengo ni un temor.
Yo ya sé que viviré en unidad,
comunidad,
yo ya sé
que Nicaragua triunfará.
Y otra y otra vez triunfará,
Nicaragua, triunfará,
porque hay paz,
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